To mold or not to mold?

So I just bought my first pair of boots, some 2011 burton rulers. Pretty comfy, but a little too tight on my left foot which is a full size larger than the right. I know it will pack out and fit better after a bit of use, but atm it’s pretty uncomfortable after an hour as my toes go numb…

So do you think heat molding would help? I have been told that it’s better to just let the liner mold from the heat generated through riding, but don’t know if there are any major pro’s or con’s of heat molding versus not heat molding… Should i just wear them for an hour a day at home to wear em in? Heading to the snow in two weeks.

Would really appreciate some advice…

Cheers

Can ya wiggle ya toes around inside the boot????

Do they get sore after just sittin around, or are ya walkin around while ya got em on????

Yeah I can wiggle my toes. When i do walk around my toes only just touch the end of the boot, but my toes are getting squished together horizontally which is what I think is causing the pins and needles.

I have mainly been sitting on the couch wearing the boots .. ..

I think it’s normal to lose a little bit of circulation in new boots, and especially when ya sitting!!!!!

Walk around for the hour that ya have them on and see if ya get the same thing!!!! Do this as many times as ya can!!!!

To pack them in a little before ya hit the hill, you really should be moving in them, not only to start to shape the liner with the movement of ya foot, but also to provide generated heat to assist this process!!!!

Do this first for a couple of days before trying to make more room in the toe box!!!! Once you make too much room you can’t go back!!!!

Did you get the boot fitted in the shop, anti???

You need to get your feet exercising, put your boots on after a run or at least a serious warm up. The blood flow and muscle in your feet increase in size and change shape dramatically when used.

Putting a sleepy foot in boots then exercising will put pressure on the muscle and tendons not allowing them to find the correct position around your skeleton. They can become pinched or at the very least pinch blood vessels that are trying to move energy and waste in that area.
This will cause not just soreness and pins & needles but can cuase long term damage.

GET FOOT BEDS! and make sure they fit your feet without toes hanging over the sides. Even pressure is important when your putting 60,70,80,100kg on top of it.

After your feet are “primed” and your boots are on - don’t sit around. Stand in your boarding stance or even strap into your board (on carpet) and do some ollies, nose and tail presses and balance on heel and toe edge - do it for around half an hour.

Don’t heat-mould until you’ve done all this and they are still giving you trouble.

Keep your toenails cut, (I cut a “V” in the middle of my bigger toes’ nails which prevents ingrowns), but the important thing is to make sure your toenails aren’t hitting the end of your boots, your toes shouldn’t be touching either - they need room to flatten when your weight is increased due to G force (3G’s isn’t uncommon - ie: 60kg=180kg). I trim mine back whenever I’m heading to the snow or every week when on the snow.

Thanks guys,

Yeah Mizu I bought them at mainpeak in perth and the guy that fitted me seemed pretty knowledgable. I tried on about 8 different pairs and these were the only ones that didn’t feel a little sloppy in one area or another.

I’ll take your advice spaz and try to do more than sit on my arse to wear them in

Hopefully they’ll have a little give in them by the time I hit the slope.

Cheers

Will all be sweet!!!!

See ya on the hill in a couple of weeks!!!! 

Sweet man. How long you at falls for?

Only 5 1/2 days!!!!! 7th-12th!!!!

Hopefully gonna chopper over to Hotham on the Thursday to see Azz and maybe deano, K2 if they can make it up, and the weather is clear for the chopper ride over!!!!!!

A lotta maybes, and at the mo the snowcast is for that thurs to be pukin!!!!!

yo anti i got the rulers about a month ago and had the same issues the first few times from wearing them around the house, but now they feel rad, packed out a little and heaps comfy.
Also i was told by the store that i bought them from that the rulers cant be heat molded.
get good socks aswell they make all the difference

Yep, don’t skimp on socks, skier socks are the same as boarder socks

i got some boarding socks off of torpedo7, keen to see if they are the miracle that the guys on here claim them to be

only cost like $8 for 2 pairs. prob not as good as the expensive as sh!t ones but see how we go

They will pack out just by wearing them, especially by riding in them. Technically it’s better to pack them out without heating the boot artificially. However, if you are having problems and your foot is in pain, it’s not a big deal to heat-mold the boots. The whole idea of not heating them unless you have to is you break the boot down slightly through the heal-molding process. Then you go ride and break down the boot further. Technically you get a better long-term fit just by wearing them and going through the slow-mold process.

Wear them around the house. Really flex them down and put them through riding-like movements. If you’re still having issues with lack of room, take them in for a heat-mold but make sure you wear toe-caps to generate the required room. One thing I can guarantee you, they will definitely pack out and generate room naturally the more you wear/use them.

Cool Cool

I don’t get the fuss over ski socks. I just wear explorer socks with my thermal bottoms tucked

Good socks, like any good snow gear, will have th ability to wick moisture away, making them dry which in return will keep your feet at a constant temp that will not only provide good circulation, it will also help with fatigue!!!!

I used to use explorers, but have been usin some Burton ones of late, and will never go back!!!!

Look for socks with coolmax/dryride yada yada yada!!!!

coin?